As the January transfer window is drawing to a close, I have chosen five U20 players who have been on the move this winter.
Louie Barry
Born: 21 June 2003
Nationality: English
Position: forward
From: Barcelona
To: Aston Villa
Aston Villa have this week progressed to the Carabao Cup final. However, it is the signing of a 16-year-old striker from Barcelona that may prove their biggest achievement of the month. Barry had spent 10 years at the West Bromwich Albion Academy before making a controversial move to Spain last summer (having initially been close to joining Paris Saint-Germain). Fast forward six months and he is back in his homeland though – as a reported 1 million euro signing for West Brom’s local rivals. The highly-regarded youngster is now tipped to become Villa’s future number nine and it will be interesting to see whether he features in this season’s Premier League relegation battle for his new club. Or even in the League Cup final against Manchester City.
Reinier
Born: 19 January 2002
Nationality: Brazil
Position: midfielder
From: Flamengo
To: Real Madrid
Real Madrid are slowly undergoing a change of guard. With captain Sergio Ramos as well as Luka Modrić, Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos, Gareth Bale and Marcelo now all in their thirties, the time has come to inject fresh blood into the team. Following in the footsteps of fellow Brazilians Vinícius and Rodrygo, Reinier is expected to crown the Real Madrid of the future – alongside the likes of Éder Militão, Ferland Mendy, Achraf Hakimi, Federico Valverde, Martin Ødegaard and his two compatriots.
Erling Braut Håland
Born: 21 July 2000
Nationality: Norwegian
Position: forward
From: Red Bull Salzburg
To: Borussia Dortmund
The 19-year-old is not even yet fully match fit, but he has already scored five times off the bench in his first two Bundesliga appearances. The left-footer, who was born in Leeds, only left his hometown club Byrne FK at the age of 16 and then only swapped Molde for Salzburg this time last year. Borussia Dortmund supporters are now eagerly awaiting his first start for the club. And no wonder.
Dejan Kulusevski
Born: 25 April 2000
Nationality: Swedish
Position: attacking midfielder
From: Atalanta
To: Juventus
Another 19-year-old Scandinavian attacking player on this list, Kulusevski has both started and will have finished this season on loan(s) at Parma. Having been born on the outskirts of Stockholm, he spent 10 years at local club IF Brommapojkarna before signing for Atalanta at the age of 16. Tall, skilful and with an eye for a penetrating pass – and also, like Håland, left-footed – Kulusevski could go to Euro 2020 with Sweden and will become Cristiano Ronaldo’s teammate next season.
Ian Poveda
Born: 9 February 2000
Nationality: English
Position: forward
From: Manchester City
To: Leeds United
As with Jadon Sancho in the past, Pep Guardiola could not guarantee a youngster the playing time that he both wanted and needed. “Leeds is an incredible challenge to be training with one of the best managers in the world in terms of how he helps players to be better players”, said the Manchester City boss having at least managed to send the highly-rated Poveda to one of his own coaching mentors in Marcelo Bielsa. Meanwhile, the English champions have also retained the right to resign the now 19-year-old in the future. Perhaps incredibly, Poveda had spent three years at Chelsea, two at Arsenal, two at Barcelona and two at Brentford before eventually signing for City at the age of 16. He may now be hoping the Championship table-topping Leeds United will also prove only a short-term stop on his career pathway.
In the picture: Erling Braut Håland (left) alongside teammate Tord Salte at Bryne, aged 14 (found here)
BREAKTHROUGH 